Federal Pacific as a service disconnect

**David D. Whitt** · 08-25-2010, 10:31 AM

Good Afternoon,
I understand that there have been threads pertaining to this issue, but I did not read anything that associated itself to a Federal Pacific brand disconnect switch. I have 4 of them at an apartment complex.
The compressors are rated at a maximum breaker of 20 amps, these are 60amps. the wiring appears to be a #10 conductor on the feed side and #12 on the load side. There are cobwebs and general dust/dirt inside the disconnect itself but I did not notice any corrosion on or around the conductors.
Any comments or questions would be appreciated. I do not see many of these.
Thanks.

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Ron Bibler · 08-25-2010, 10:39 AM

I would not want that in my home...Sorry but you may want to call a electrical contractor and get all that mess corrected...

Its just old...

Best

Ron

James Duffin · 08-25-2010, 03:22 PM

If the data plate says a 20 amp max breaker and these are 60 amp I would go with that as a repair item. The type of breaker really does not matter at this point.

**Jim Luttrall** · 08-25-2010, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by David D. Whitt

Good Afternoon,
I understand that there have been threads pertaining to this issue, but I did not read anything that associated itself to a Federal Pacific brand disconnect switch. I have 4 of them at an apartment complex.
The compressors are rated at a maximum breaker of 20 amps, these are 60amps. the wiring appears to be a #10 conductor on the feed side and #12 on the load side. There are cobwebs and general dust/dirt inside the disconnect itself but I did not notice any corrosion on or around the conductors.
Any comments or questions would be appreciated. I do not see many of these.
Thanks.

I can't tell much from your pictures but those look like FP stablok breakers and are not rated properly for the condensing unit. But many disconnect switches at the outdoor unit are just that, switches, and not breakers. The 60 amp rating is just the maximum service rating, maybe not the breaker rating at all. Is there a properly rated breaker at the upstream panel?

More importantly, is there FP Stablok panels serving as the breakers in the units. I would call for total replacement if the main panels are FP.

**Matt Fellman** · 08-25-2010, 08:16 PM

The fact that this is in the "fireplace" section is a funny coincidence.... Realistically, it's probably a good place for it.

It looks really old and should probably be replaced.... my main question would be if there is a properly sized upstream breaker in the main panel? If so, this disconnect doesn't even need to have overcurrent protection (which it well may not given it's FP).

**Bob Knauff** · 08-25-2010, 08:32 PM

David, Is your date wrong on your camera? Your images are dated 2009. If you are taking pictures currently you may inadvertently be creating a potential legal problem for yourself.

**David D. Whitt** · 08-25-2010, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by Matt Fellman

The fact that this is in the "fireplace" section is a funny coincidence.... Realistically, it's probably a good place for it.

It looks really old and should probably be replaced.... my main question would be if there is a properly sized upstream breaker in the main panel? If so, this disconnect doesn't even need to have overcurrent protection (which it well may not given it's FP).

I did not realize that it was under the fireplace section, I am loosing my mind. I was looking at another post i had created and......well .......uh........yea. Thanks for letting me know.

Originally Posted by Bob Knauff

David, Is your date wrong on your camera? Your images are dated 2009. If you are taking pictures currently you may inadvertently be creating a potential legal problem for yourself.

Yes I have not set the date, but since you think that there may be some difficulty in the future, I will set it.

Thanks guys

**Bob Knauff** · 08-25-2010, 08:53 PM

Do as you wish with the date on your pics but if they are ever called into question legally, it'll be difficult to prove you took them at a different date than what shows in the image.

**Jerry Peck** · 08-26-2010, 03:36 PM

Putting dates on photos is not a good thing, they really mean nothing as anyone can put any date on the photo then want to.

The file will have a 'photo taken' or 'file created' date, but even that can be manipulated.

**Bob Knauff** · 08-26-2010, 04:11 PM

This may be a good question to ask a lawyer about rather then speculate here. In past legal seminars I have attended, attorneys have recommended HI's date the photos for a stronger case if push comes to shove. Of course anything can be Photo shopped but aside from that it's pretty good proof of date.

**Jerry Peck** · 08-26-2010, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Bob Knauff

Of course anything can be Photo shopped but aside from that it's pretty good proof of date.

Do not even have to Photo Shop anything, simply reset the camera date - the desired date will show on the photo.

It really is not "proof" of anything.

What counts more is the file creation date, but, as I said, if you have computer hacker skills you can even change that date (so I've been told, and I've been told it was easy if you knew how), but that is a better date than the date on the photo.